


Serpant and Tanuki

by italulu



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien Character(s), Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Nonbinary Character, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Shameless Self-Indulgence, Slow Burn, Time Skips, also i hope you like tanukis, basically a "dt deserves love too" fic where they slowly fall in love with an idiot, like seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26095387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/italulu/pseuds/italulu
Summary: It's natural for things to change. In 4 years Etheria changed, the galaxy changed, even the little kitten ended up changing for the better.But Double Trouble hasn't changed at all. And why would they? They're perfect! Don't fix what isn't broken. Still, it feels... odd. Like being the only one not in on a joke. The only one without... something.But the entire universe is a big place. Someone who was gonna come along who would push them out of their comfort zone.
Relationships: Double Trouble (She-Ra)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 18





	Serpant and Tanuki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm a simple creature. i see a shape-shifting nonbinary lizard person, i fall in love. and then we get to the end of season 5 and double trouble doesn't get a big conclusion or character arc, so i roll up my sleeves and say "i gotta do all the gosh dang work in this house, don't i?" so i gotta make someone for them to hold hands and smooch with
> 
> and i hear some of you saying "some people ship them with peekablue or catra or whoever" right? and to that i call you a fool. i have spent MINUTES in a laboratory researching and synthesizing the perfect creature to bounce off of dt's personality
> 
> my conclusion: a furry thembo.

_The makeshift campfire spread its warmth through the air, giving Double Trouble a little comfort in the cold jungle. On the other side of the flames, their furry companion was giddily unpacking any candies they managed to salvage, fastening them to sticks, and roasting them over the flames, genuinely excited for their "meal"._

_Genuine. Honest. Innocent. Too innocent for mercenary work. Too foolish for a cut-throat world. Too trusting to be helping Double Trouble. Too..._

_Double frowned as a pit in their stomach formed. "Too good for a piece of shit like me."_

_*Three months ago*_

The Crimson Waste had become quite civilized. Not quite to the level of say Brightmoon or Salineas, but it was getting there. In the four years since Horde Prime fell, the stars opened up to Etheria, and with it a brand-new world of commerce and tourism (universe-wide peace was also a nice bonus). Of course Brightmoon and Mystacor got the most traffic, but there was enough eccentric people interested in the Crimson Waste and whatever First Ones ruins it hid to garner some new business opportunities.

Fancy hotels, trashy restaurants, souvenir shops, cheap hotels-Within a few years the desert went from a despicable hive of scum and villainy to a modestly civilized tourist trap, with the scum and villainy agreeing to hide in the background for a while.

And of course, Double Trouble made up a chunk of that scum.

Compared to the handful of crime lords that had made the Waste their home, Double was relatively benign: Their biggest crimes being pick pocketing tourists, scamming the occasional naive archaeologist, and of course, impersonating whatever interstellar political bigwig they felt like that day, then causing havoc for their reputation. For instance, just last week they transformed into the daughter of a local crime boss. They smooth talked and complained their way into a 5-star hotel room, and made off with a bag full of complimentary toiletries. They can't even use half of what they stole! It was hilarious!

But hey, they weren't _all_ bad. Every now and then they'd get hired by Huntara of people. How she even managed to find them is still a mystery, but hey, a job is a job. Huntara had slowly started up some semblance of a government branch for the Crimson Waste, under Queen Glimmer's goal of planet-wide unification. But even she needs help in weeding out whatever part of the criminal underworld was causing problems that week.

Most jobs were simple, a bit of info gathering here, a stolen key card there -there were bigger jobs at times. Impersonating a crime lord and framing them for something, either to falsely arrest them or cause discord in their own organisation, was common. But Double Trouble didn't want to make a habit of those jobs. Use the same trick too much and someone was bound to figure out it's secret. And as soon someone put the dots together, there would be a big price over Double Trouble's head.

Although perhaps it's a bit too late to worry about that, since Double is already being chased across rooftops by some dog-like assailant.

*****

Their attacker technically got the drop on them -Double was too busy sampling a food stall that opened up in town recently. They were doing decently well in terms of money, and decided to treat themself to eating out. So they took on the appearance of some off-world woman, put on their best annoying tourist act, and set off sampling and annoying every food cart they could find.

Too tied up in their own act, they barely noticed the approaching sound of sniffing, followed by someone saying "Yeah, you're the one." before properly turning their head to them. Turning their head to a large, hairy hand swiftly reaching out to grab them. But Double Trouble hadn't survived an entire war by being that easy to catch however, and quickly bent backward, avoiding the swipe at their head, following their backward momentum into a cartwheel to correct their footing.

It had been a while since someone blatantly tried to start a street fight in the valley, and Double preferred it that way. But living the life they have, they know how to hold themselves in a fight if they had to. Usually just enough to stun or distract them so that an escape can be made. But as Double Trouble steadied themself and held up their arms in a basic defensive stance, they received the full view of their would-be attacker. And they began to think their low sweeps and arm-twisting wouldn't work on this... person?

The creature Double was looking at certainly seemed humanoid, having a tall, well built physique even with the animalistic features around their face -two ears, one pointed, one lopsided, peaking out on top of their messy hair, a brown fur covering their entire face and body, a darker shade of that fur covering their emerald eyes and a bushy tail swaying excitedly behind them- and there were some baggy clothes clinging to their body, which was swung with the momentum of their swing of their arm.

Their _big_ arm. Their arm that appeared to swell at the forearm into a giant fist, nearly the size of the rest of their body. The figure adjusted themself, and lunged forward, reaching out their other arm towards Double. As the clawed hand approached, Double simply jumped backwards, confident that they could get out of their attacker's range. And then the hand kept extending. Even as Double's feet landed, the hand reached closer and closer to their head. Fortunately, Double Trouble was quick enough to raise their own arm and swatted the furry hand away. They saw the hand continue to reach out, despite missing the target, and skid down the dirt street, starting to get the attention and gasps of a few of the civilians among the streets.

Double Trouble's eyes traced from the furry hand back to the body it belonged to, noting how the arm was now at least three meters long. Another shape-shifter perhaps? Their momentary confusion turned to playful curiosity. "Well then. What are you supposed to be, darling?"

The animal's face turned to a slightly sinister smile. Their outstretched hand suddenly retracted back to the body with a loud snap. They then held said arm to the side as it too began to swell into a large fist, the size of it's other. "I'm gonna be your worst nightmare- shit, wait." They turned their head to the side, suddenly lost in thought. "I could've said something cooler there." Their enlarged hands shrunk as they shifted their stance and held their chin in their hand. "A 'Nightmare' doesn't really fit my whole aesthetic, does it. Didn't even word it right. Mmm... 'Your capturer'? 'Captur'? Well that's presumptuous, I haven't done the capturing yet. 'The one who's gonna capture you'? No, too direct, zero personality. Can't just give you my name either, too casual, doesn't lead well into a fight. Hey, what do you say when-"

Double Trouble had already left.

As interesting as that 'conversation' was going, they didn't want to be there for the end of it, when this... wolf person? Racoon person? When this racoon person started throwing hands. Double had taken the opportunity during the monologue to sneak past a few of the spectators and shifted their appearance from a middle-aged woman to a young boy. They took a few corners, acting the part of an excited child, laughing and exploring the busy streets. When they were confident they lost their would-be assailant, they veered into an empty alleyway, and changed back to their true form, and started catching their breath.

Well. Someone was out to get them, it seems. It was bound to happen eventually. Guessing who would be a pointless endeavor- Double made enemies as naturally as they breathed. The problem was how someone found them while in disguise, unless someone had a bone to pick with some annoying off-world tourist (honestly, they didn't blame them if so). Double always kept an ear to the ground for rumors of some fancy new technology that could see through their unique ability, but as far as they knew, nothing that impressive has shown up in the Crimson Waste yet. Was it some form of sorcery perhaps? Though that beast of a man didn't look the most magically inclined-

"Hey! There you are!" An aggressive voice pulled Double out of their thoughts. At the entrance to the alley, they saw the same animalistic figure from earlier clumsily slide to a stop before locking eyes with Double Trouble and barreling towards them.

Double quickly scanned the small space. Need to find a way to escape. No good, only trash around. Anything above? A rusty exterior staircase, attached a few meters off the ground. Will have to do.

Double Trouble gave the briefest of leaps against towards the nearby wall, kicking off it for that few extra inches of height. Reaching up, they grabbed the lowest hanging bar of the bottom ladder. With gymnastic-level strength, and just a little bit of effort, they contorted their body up, hoisting themself onto the lower grate, just barely avoiding the animal-man crashing into the garbage cans on the ground. Stopping only briefly to chuckle at the slapstick, they continued climbing the structure to the top of the building. They had no time to relax however, as from the wreckage below two hands quickly stretched up and grab the ledge of the building. Double Trouble scampered across the roof as the beast-man pulled themself up and began chasing after the lizard.

*****

For a short time there, Double Trouble was actually worried. If someone with powers you don't understand shows up and clearly wants to capture you, you'd be a bit cautious too. But as the two shapeshifters chased each other across the city rooftops, one thing became painfully clear: Double Trouble was the most dexterous of the two. They leapt from building to building effortlessly, climbed up stairs and obstacles with pinpoint accuracy, and ran along the spines of tiled roofs without making a sound, showing off their years of experience in the art of running away. In stark contrast, the beast that chased them spent precious seconds between buildings peering down at the fall between and steeling themselves to make a jump of only a few feet, they attempted to parkour over obstacles in the same manner as Double Trouble only to trip and fall with a yelp.

And as for the tiled roofs, well... that was proving a natural weakness for the beast. Immediately upon stepping on the first slate in their path, it slipped out from under them, causing them to flip and land flat on their face. They didn't even have time to lick that wound, as their weight caused the tiles they landed on to start sliding off the roof too. They desperately scrambled into a blur of fur and limbs, trying desperately to climb back up the slanted roof and balance themself on something that wouldn't betray their balance.

At this stage, Double Trouble from the next roof over had simply ceased their retreat, and was now sitting on it's edge, enjoying show of slapstick. "Need any help?" they cooed.

The beast, now on all fours and gingerly reaching their hand out to a slate to test its stability, looked up to the lizard, sitting cross-legged, with a smug look of superiority. "N-no, I'm fine, really..." They placed a hand firmly in front of them, shifting their weight onto it. "This is... actually getting kind of fun. Kinda like yoga."

Double Trouble suppressed a chuckle. "Oh, and you're just gonna abandon me to play with yourself? Typical men."

The animal looked up at Double Trouble, a look of anger written across their face. "I'm not a boy, you _idiot_." they said, the last word spat out with child-like spite.

Double Trouble raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

The beast's face turned from annoyed to a look of pity. "O-oh, sorry I forgot. This planet was isolated for a long time, so you're probably not a knowledgable about this stuff. Okay, so... I'm what's known as 'nonbinary', which means I'm..."

As the animal started a long-winded explanation, the smirk on Double Trouble's face dropped. Their mind was both annoyed at suddenly being lectured by a stranger, and amused at the irony of who this raccoon was telling this to. But as these emotions made a small battle in their mind, another thought crept in from the back of their head to the fore-front:

_"Oh, they're just like me."_

Double was surprised with themself. But they shook that feeling off and composed themself. That was nothing more than some... instinctual part of their brain trying form a connection where there was none. It was fairly obvious that the two of them haven't started on the best foot. And they don't seem like the type to calm down and discuss things politely over coffee.

Double doesn't even like coffee dates anyway.

They composed themself and a smile returned to. "Well, I do offer my sincerest apologies my dear. As an apology, I would offer a hand with your little... disagreement with dexterity, but I really must be going." They stood up and turned.

The raccoon's eyes widened in panic. Their target was about to escape. "Wait!" they yelled, as if the lizard would oblige. Their balanced but ungraceful form devolved into a desperate scramble across the roof, that they miraculously managed to navigate. Double turned back to see the beast reach the edge of the building and leap up towards them.

In response, Double Trouble simply stepped off the edge of the building.

The beast's shocked face collided with the bottom of Double's foot. They kicked hard off of the raccoon and propelled themself back upward to the building's edge. The raccoon yelped as they dropped down to the street between the two buildings.

Double Trouble looked down to see the results of their handiwork: a large cloud of dust on the street with a commotion of people gathering around it. They let out a satisfied chuckle. But as fun as that little distraction was, it presented an issue that Double had to address: the Crimson Waste was no longer safe for them. Even if that... assailant wasn't a threat, others will come. They started to walk. "It's time to relocate, I think."

*****

When you exit the Valley of the Lost on the south side, then walk east for about two kilometers, you'll find a small canyon. Such landmasses are a dime a dozen, but what makes this one different is what happened about 50 years ago. Some business entrepreneur had deluded himself into starting a mining operation in the canyon. Convinced that there was gold or something in there, he dug a series of tunnels into the canyon walls. It was a terrible business venture in hindsight, causing the would-be entrepeneur to lose everything, and turning the canyon into an abandoned field of machinery and stone. Fortunately, it made a decent hideout for Double Trouble.

It's an old secret Double discovered when they first came to the Crimson Waste all those years ago. They made sure to use it sparingly, tending to only crash there when they absolutely needed to lay low for a week or so. They were meticulous when covering their tracks to it, from literally wiping away footprints with their tail, to keeping most traceable tech away from it. Not that they kept the place sparse, in fact as Double walked up the dirt mound to enter the mouth of one of the mines, their little setup was exactly how they left it: a couple of wooden stools littered about the area, a torn, dusty but still usable couch and blanket, a few worn metal boxes filled with various spoils. Home sweet home.

Double wiped off the dust on the couch, sat down, crossed their legs, and relaxed after their small trek through the desert sun. One of the rare chances they get to relax. Just one of the unfortunate perks of the business, they suppose. No rest for the wicked, as they say. Even in the middle of nowhere, you need to sleep with one eye open when you have a bounty out on you.

A frown adorned Double Trouble's face. That was a depressing thought. Let's just... push that back down for now.

They bent forward, arms leaning on their knees. They reached out and grabbed the nearest metal box, dragging it in front of them and opening it. Passports, IDs, a number of legal documents- all forgeries of course. It's easy for Double to change their face, putting an "official" name on it is a different matter. These were a big help in doing just that.

They began sorting through them, double checking the details in each of them. A lot of these are expired. In fact, a good few of these are pre-galactic travel. Not that Double Trouble had ever been off-world, but most transport need the new registration mark anyway.

Off-world, huh. Despite the stars opening up, Double hasn't actually been off of Etheria. Business was complicated enough on this planet already, no need to complicate it further. Or, that's what Double tells themself anyway.

That said, despite how "big" they claim Etheria to be, the topic of relocation can be a difficult one for Double Trouble. You can run from one crime lord after your life in the Crimson Waste, just to run into another in Mystacor, or Dryl. Plumeria was alright, just a bit too peaceful for Double's taste. No nightlife, no _fun_ to be had. They haven't been in Brightmoon for a few years, but it's become the sort of... political center of the world. Best to avoid it. Don't want get involved with any of the big shots again, like She-ra and-

Double stopped their mindless flipping through documents. And Catra. Double hasn't seen Catra in years. Not since... Well, not since they left her for dead in a burning Horde building, after... giving her a some tough love. They were probably in the same general location back when Horde Prime fell, but Double Trouble didn't hang around for the after party. Even if the princesses were decidedly less dictator-ish than Prime, Double figures they wouldn't exactly be happy to see them.

Double didn't want anything to do with royalty anymore, and they kept their nose out of their business. Other than sparse rumors and under ground whispers, they didn't even think about the princesses of power until about 3 years ago. They were simply walking down a market street one day, and their eyes were drawn to a magazine. "The inside scoop on Princess Adora and Catra's wedding celebration" it read, accompanied by a candid picture of the two women gazing lovingly at each other.

Double Trouble must have stared at it dumbfounded for a solid minute. Not only astounded by the fact that Kitten was getting hitched, but the look on her face too. It was soft and gentle. Tiredness behind her eyes yes, but... also a certain happiness. Like she had healed.

A mixture of emotions swirled in Double Trouble when they saw her. Surprise, of course. Didn't see Catra as the type to make amends with the people she tried to kill. A bit of pride. Perhaps their little pep-talk had actually gotten through to her. But they also felt a little bit of... pain? Unease? What was this, jealousy? Envy?

No, wait. They recognized this.

They were _bitter_.

Jumping back to the present, Double Trouble shook their head violently. "Ugh, what is _with_ me today?!" They're never this melancholy. Okay, no more distractions. They should get back to-

"Hello? You out here?" The voice made Double jump out of their skin. They looked towards the source of the voice -outside the cave entrance. They snook towards it, being careful not to make themselves noticed by whoever was out there. They peeked out. A few dozen meters away, standing atop a pile of rubble and slag, the racoon person stood scanning the area. The same god-damned racoon. How in all of Etheria did they find this place?

Okay. Okay, don't panic. How can Double deal with this? Worst case scenario, they can run away again. The problem with that is leaving behind everything they need to make a more permanent exit. And they definitely can't make a quick escape carrying whatever documents and money they need. They could hide, but there's no guarantee they won't get caught.

No, Double knows how to handle this: their forte.

They stood up and changed their appearance to a stout, burly human man with a construction vest and a hard hat. "Oi! Who goes there!" they yelled, stepping out.

The racoon jumped out of their skin at the sudden appearance, losing their footing on the pile of rubble for a second, only regaining balance after crouching down and holding onto a piece of stone. "Oh! Hey! Uh... Don't mind me, just looking for someone!" They began to carefully step down from the rubble.

"Well sorry, but no one else is here! Now leave, you're interrupting my work!" Double Trouble practically barked, slipping effortlessly into the persona of an irritable middle-aged man.

The beast had reached stable ground and was walking towards Double. "Can I just look around real quick? Please??"

"No. Now leave. _Please_."

The racoon pouted. "Well you don't need to be rude about it."

"Hey, you're the one being the asshole here. You can't just waltz into private property like you own the place, brat."

"I'm not a brat!" They gave a face utter offence, then stomped right up to the disguised lizard. Right up to their face. "Here I am asking a simple question from, then suddenly this _geezer_ shows up and..."

They stopped. Why did they stop? Staring at Double Trouble, they sniffed. The leaned forward, a bit too close for comfort, and sniffed again. Then smiled. Oh no.

"Oh, it's you!" They almost sounded happy as they raised their hand up, ready to strike.

Instinctually feeling danger, Double Trouble once again flipped backward to avoid a swipe from the beast's claws. Landing, they stepped back and transformed into their true form, flashing a smile at the racoon. "Oh, it's me!" they teased.

Returning the cocky smile, the racoon pulled the hand back and quickly, then immediately punched forward, their arm shooting towards the lizard. Again, Double Trouble swiftly dodged, causing the fist to crash into the mine wall, making dust and loose stones to fly. The beast left no room for Double to think, retracting its arm and firing off it's other fist in the same motion. Again, Double dodged, causing the fist to miss and collide into the wall with a crash. And yet again, the beast continued its volley of punches. This cycle continued without much change, Double unable to get far enough away to escape or close enough to knock them out, and the beast unable to hit their target, only whiffing and constantly smacking either the mine's wall or support beams.

The mine's old and weak support beams.

The two were too caught up in their brief scramble to notice the damage they were doing to the mine's entrance, only noticing when a boulder on the ceiling fell between them. A low creaking sound cried out from the walls, as if the mine was groaning in pain. The two shapeshifters started cautiously scanning the walls and ceiling as more rocks began to fall, larger as they did.

"Shit..." they muttered simultaneously. Double Trouble's eyes darted to the cave entrance. During the skirmish the two had moved further into the mine, with the cave entrance now about 30 feet away. The bright view of outside began to dwindle as more dust and loose debris trickled down from the ceiling. Double didn't like the odds of making it out in time, but they didn't have any other option.

They took the briefest of moments to steel themselves before making a dash, but before they could start the sprint, the racoon's aems finally caught them. Not in a violent grab, but in gentle but hurried hug as the beast carried the two of them deeper into the cave. Regardless of how soft they were, Double still tried to fight back. "Ugh! Let go of me, you oaf!"

The racoon's face was panicked and unconcerned with Double's protests. "Sorry! Can't do that! And also hang on, it's been a hot minute since I've done this!" Double Trouble felt a twinge of annoyance and confusion, smacking the broad shoulders of the beast in frustration. More rocks fell. The animal ran. More rocks fell. The whole place began to collapse. The animal leapt, and Double Trouble was suddenly engulfed in an explosion of soft brow fur.


End file.
